Saturday, September 10, 2011

Tire problems.

Location, Kearney, NE

Today’s leisurely trip turned into something more than we expected.

This morning we traveled west on I-80 until about 40 miles from our destination when I noticed something fly across the road behind us first on the left side then on the right. About that time a vehicle pulled along side and motioned towards the trailer wheels. I immediately pulled to the side of the road and found that we had shredded the passenger side front tire on the trailer.

There was some damage to the trailer but really a minimal amount considering. I put the 4 way blinkers on and put out 2 safety cones to warn traffic which was considerable. Mostly trucks, which for the most part moved over to the left lane before passing us. However, as heavy as traffic was, some could not move over so they really rocked the rig. We put out chairs in the shade near the back of the rig well off the road. I just don’t think it is wise to sit in the vehicle while parked like this.

I called Good Sam Emergency Road Service which said a truck would be out to us in about an hour. We were about 14 miles east of Kearney so I gave them the info off the GPS which told me how far back the last overpass was and how far to the next overpass. This helped the emergency service operator pin point our location.

An hour later we were back on the road, following the tow truck to a campground in Kearney. I decided to replace all the tires as these have about 25,000 miles on them and are 3 years old. The problem is this is Saturday and nothing is open until Monday. So, Monday they will try to find us some tires. We will be here at least until Tuesday.

This is a new campground and the only one in town. I am sure it was a cornfield last year. There are 3 rows of all pull through full hookup sites each 120 feet long. The surface is rough rocks and gravel which needs to be packed more to make it stable. We have several TV stations on the antenna and free WiFi so life is good.

Caqmpground next to a cornfield.﻿

There are plenty of things to do here so we won’t be bored. Tomorrow we will go to Minden south of here to Pioneer Village which I understand takes at least two days to see everything. A report tomorrow.